15-month-old boy left in hot car dies in Connecticut

(NBC News) Another child has died after being left in a hot car. A 15-month-old boy was found dead early Monday evening in the backseat of a car in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Police say he had been left unattended for an extended period of time on a day when the temperature reached 88 degrees outside.

Surprisingly, researchers say it just seems there are more children dying after being left in hot cars this year. The reality, they told USA Today, is there are actually fewer hot car deaths this year than by the same time last year.

The persistent problem has child safety advocates like Kate Carr of SafeKids.org scrambling for new ways to prevent tragedy.

They say the main reason why it happens hasn't changed.

"What we frequently see is that the driver, whether it's the mother, father of some other driver, is doing something out of ordinary routine," Carr says.

The most common ways to remind yourself your child's in the back is by putting your briefcase, your lunch, cellphone, office keys or even the shoe off your left foot in the back seat with them.

July and August are the worst months for children dying in hot cars, and the latest case in Connecticut shows it doesn't just happen in the South and West.